Multi-output current-balancing circuit

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a multi-output current-balancing circuit, which in one embodiment can include: (i) a transformer having a primary winding and a plurality of secondary windings, where the primary winding receives an AC input current; (ii) a plurality of first and second rectifier circuits and a plurality of first current balancing components, where each of the first and second rectifier circuits and the first current balancing components is coupled to a corresponding secondary winding, where each the first current balancing component is configured for current balancing between each of the first and second rectifier circuits of the corresponding secondary winding; and (iii) at least one second current balancing component, where each second current balancing component is coupled to a pair of the second rectifier circuits that correspond to different secondary windings, where the second current balancing components are configured for current balancing between different the secondary windings.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of the following application, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/743,184, filed on Jan. 16, 2013, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,729,819, and which is hereby incorporated by reference as if it is set forth in full in this specification, and which also claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 201210032720.7, filed on Feb. 15, 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a multi-output circuit, and more specifically to a multi-output current-balancing circuit.

BACKGROUND

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) may be assembled in high-efficiency and high-brightness lighting applications. The brightness of LEDs may directly relate to forward current flowing through the LEDs. In general, the LEDs become brighter as the forward current increases. Usually, the forward current should be precisely balanced in order to obtain brightness balancing between a plurality of LEDs. Typically, an LLC resonant DC/DC converter is used in LED drivers because of its high conversion efficiency. As shown in FIG. 1, an example LLC resonant DC/DC converter can include two rectifier loops connected with the secondary winding. This approach can achieve current balancing without any active component or active controlling methods, but only through blocking capacitor C₁.

However, a converter of this kind can only achieve current balancing between two LED strings. When a plurality of LEDs are connected in series to form an LED string, the cross voltage on each LED strings may be too high and result in an increase of a withstand voltage of the LED string. Also, forward voltage drops on diodes with high withstand voltages can be substantially large, so conduction losses and reverse recovery losses cannot be ignored. Therefore, it may become difficult to improve system conversion efficiency, and design and production costs may be increased due to relatively large bulk capacitors configured as filter capacitors.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a multi-output current-balancing circuit can include: (i) a transformer having a primary winding and a plurality of secondary windings, where the primary winding receives an AC input current; (ii) a plurality of first and second rectifier circuits and a plurality of first current balancing components, where each of the first and second rectifier circuits and the first current balancing components is coupled to a corresponding secondary winding, where each first current balancing component is configured for current balancing between each of the first and second rectifier circuits of the corresponding secondary winding; and (iii) at least one second current balancing component, where each second current balancing component is coupled to a pair of the second rectifier circuits that correspond to different secondary windings, where the second current balancing components are configured for current balancing between different the secondary windings.

Embodiments of the present invention can advantageously provide several advantages over conventional approaches. For example, a multi-output current-balancing circuit can be used in the applications of multi-winding on the secondary side, and current balancing between multi-output circuits can be achieved through current balancing components. Even in the high power applications, rectifier diodes of relatively low withstand voltages and relatively small bulk filter capacitors can also meet system requirements, and the system conversion efficiency can be increased. Also, product cost and circuit volume can be reduced, facilitating design and simplifying circuit structure. In addition, multi-output current-balancing circuits can be suitable for applications that use a plurality of substantially equal currents, and are particularly suitable for multi-output LED drivers. Other advantages of the present invention may become readily apparent from the detailed description of preferred embodiments below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example conventional two-output current balancing circuit.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an example multi-output current balancing circuit.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a first example multi-output current-balancing circuit according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a second example multi-output current-balancing circuit according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a third example multi-output current-balancing circuit according to embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference may now be made in detail to particular embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention may be described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments, it may be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents that may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, in the following detailed description of the present invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it may be readily apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, processes, components, structures, and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present invention.

In order to accommodate more than one light-emitting diode (LED) group or string of a plurality of LEDs, a multi-output current balancing circuit as shown in FIG. 2 can be used. In this example, a first current balancing component can balance currents respectively flowing through a first LED group and a second LED group. Also, a second current balancing component can be used to balance currents respectively flowing through the second LED group and a third LED group.

Referring now to FIG. 3, shown is a schematic diagram of a first example multi-output current-balancing circuit according to embodiments of the present invention. In this example, rectifier circuits 301 can be first rectifier circuits, rectifier circuits 302 can be second rectifier circuits, current balancing components 303 can be first current balancing components, and current balancing component 304 can be a second current balancing component. Of course, other numbers and configurations of current balancing components (e.g., greater than two) and rectifier circuits (e.g., greater than two) can also be accommodated in particular embodiments.

The particular multi-output current-balancing circuit of FIG. 3 can include a transformer, where the transformer can include primary winding n_(p) and two secondary windings n_(s1) and n_(s2). Primary winding n_(p) can be used to receive an AC input current, secondary winding n_(s1) can be used to supply power to rectifier circuits 301-1 and 302-1, and secondary winding n_(s2) can be used to supply power to rectifier circuits 301-2 and 302-2. The output terminals of rectifier circuits 301 and 302 can be configured as four output terminals of the multi-output current-balancing circuit.

Current balancing component 303-1 can connect with secondary winding n_(s1), and may be used to balance the currents of rectifier circuits 301-1 and 302-1. Similarly, current balancing component 303-2 can connect with secondary winding n_(s2), and may be used to balance the currents of rectifier circuits 301-2 and 302-2. Rectifier circuit 302-1 corresponding to secondary windings n_(s1) and rectifier circuit 302-2 corresponding to secondary windings n_(s2) can be coupled together through current balancing component 304-1. For example, current balancing component 304-1 can be used to balance the currents of secondary windings n_(s1) and n_(s2).

With the current balancing components 303 and 304-1, current balancing between multi-output channels of the multi-output current-balancing circuit can be accommodated. Also, while only two secondary windings are shown in this particular example, certain embodiments can also support more than two (e.g., three, four, etc.) secondary windings. For example, each such secondary winding can be mapped to a current balancing component 303 and rectifier circuits 301 and 302. Further, current balancing components 304 can be utilized to couple rectifier circuits 302 that correspond to different secondary windings.

Referring now to FIG. 4, shown is a schematic diagram of a second example multi-output current-balancing circuit according to embodiments of the present invention. In FIG. 4, current balancing component 303-1 can include current balancing capacitor C_(B11), current balancing component 303-2 can include current balancing capacitor C_(B12), and current balancing component 304-1 can include current balancing capacitor C_(B21). Rectifier circuit 301-1 can include diode D₁₁, diode D₁₂, and filter capacitor C_(o11). For example, diode D₁₁ can be series connected with diode D₁₂, and filter capacitor C_(o11) can be connected in parallel to the cathode of diode D₁₁ and the anode of diode D₁₂.

A common junction of diode D₁₁ and diode D₁₂ can be configured as an input terminal of rectifier circuit 301-1, and two terminals of filter capacitor C_(o11) can be configured as output terminals of rectifier circuit 301-1. Rectifier circuit 302-1 can include diode D₂₁, diode D₂₂, and filter capacitor C_(o21). For example, diode D₂₁ can be series connected to diode D₂₂, and filter capacitor C_(o21) can be connected in parallel to the cathode of diode D₂₁ and the anode of diode D₂₂. The second terminal of filter capacitor C_(o21) can connect to terminal A1 of rectifier circuit 302-1, and the anode of diode D₂₂ can connect terminal A2 of rectifier circuit 302-1.

A common junction of diode D₂₁ and diode D₂₂ can be configured as an input terminal of rectifier circuit 302-1, and two terminals of filter capacitor C_(o21) can be configured as output terminals of rectifier circuit 302-1. The configuration and connection of, rectifier circuit 301-2, rectifier circuit 302-2, and current balancing component 303-2 corresponding to secondary winding n_(s2) can be the same or similar to rectifier circuit 301-1, rectifier circuit 302-1, and current balancing component 303-1 corresponding to secondary winding n_(s1).

Connection terminal A1 of rectifier circuit 302-1 and connection terminal B2 of rectifier circuit 302-2 can connect to ground. Connection terminal A2 of rectifier circuit 302-1 can connect to connection terminal B1 of rectifier circuit 302-2. The common junction of rectifier circuits 302-1 and 302-2 can connect to one terminal of current balancing capacitor C_(B21), and the other terminal of current balancing capacitor C_(B21) can connect to ground.

To facilitate the description, based on the illustration of FIG. 3, diodes D₁₁ and diode D₁₃ can each be a first diode, while diode D₁₂ and diode D₁₄ can each be collectively a second diode. Also, each of diode D₂₁ and diode D₂₃ can be a third diode, while each of diode D₂₂ and diode D₂₄ can be a fourth diode. Current balancing capacitor C_(B11) and current balancing capacitor C_(B12) can each be a first current balancing capacitor, and current balancing capacitor C_(B21) can be a second current balancing capacitor. Each of filter capacitor C_(o11) and filter capacitor C_(o12) can be a first filter capacitor, and filter capacitor C_(o21) and filter capacitor C_(o22) can each be a second filter capacitor. Also, connection terminal A1 and connection terminal B1 can each be a first connection terminal, and connection terminal A2 and connection terminal B2 can be a second connection terminal. Of course, other numbers and configurations of diodes, capacitors, current balancing components, connection terminals, etc., can also be accommodated in particular embodiments.

Based on the ampere-second property of a capacitor, at steady state, the average currents of the first current balancing capacitors and the second current balancing capacitor can be substantially zero. That is, the forward currents flowing through the first current balancing capacitors and the second current balancing capacitor can be substantially equal to the reverse currents thereof. In this way, the first current balancing capacitors can balance the currents between a first rectifier circuit and a second rectifier circuit corresponding to the same secondary winding. Also, a second current balancing capacitor can balance the currents between two different secondary windings, and as a result current balancing between multi-output current-balancing circuits can be achieved.

From the above description, the multi-output current-balancing circuits according to embodiments of the present invention can realize current balancing between multi-output channels based on the self-property of current balancing components. Even in high power applications, rectifier diodes of relatively low withstand voltages and filter capacitors of relatively small bulk can be used to meet the application requirements. The system conversion efficiency can also be increased, and product costs and circuit volume can be reduced to facilitate the overall design.

The example shown in FIG. 4 may still take two secondary windings as an example to explain connections and operating principles of a multi-output current-balancing circuit in particular embodiments. Particular embodiments can also support a multi-output current-balancing circuit with more than two secondary windings. Further, connection relationships between such secondary windings and corresponding first current balancing components, first and second rectifier circuits, etc., may not be limited to the particular forms shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4.

Referring now to FIG. 5, shown is a third example multi-output current-balancing circuit according to embodiments of the present invention. In this particular example, the secondary windings can be denoted by n_(s1), n_(s2), . . . n_(sn), different from the examples shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the first output terminals of secondary windings n_(s1), n_(s2), . . . n_(sn) can be connected to one terminals of current balancing capacitors C_(B11), C_(B12), . . . C_(B1n), and the other terminals of current balancing capacitors C_(B11), C_(B12), . . . C_(B1n) can be connected to the corresponding rectifier circuits 301-1, 301-2, . . . 301-n.

Connection terminal A1 of rectifier circuit 302-1 corresponding to secondary winding n_(s1) can connect to connection terminal B2 of rectifier circuit 302-2 corresponding to second winding n_(s2). Also, a common junction of connection terminal A1 and connection terminal B2 can connect to one terminal of current balancing capacitor C_(B21), while the other terminal of current balancing capacitor C_(B21) can connect to ground. Similarly, connection terminal M2 of rectifier circuit 302-n corresponding to secondary winding n_(sn) can connect to a rectifier circuit corresponding to the adjacent secondary winding, and the common junction thereof can connect to one terminal of current balancing capacitor C_(B2(n-1)).

With respect to the above connection relationship, connection terminal A2 of rectifier circuit 302-1 corresponding to secondary winding n_(s1) and connection terminal M1 of rectifier circuit 302-n corresponding to secondary winding n_(sn) can be connected to ground. Also, in the example current balancing circuit shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each of the loads connected to the multi-output channels can be include one or more series connected LEDs. Further, any suitable loads can be coupled to the multi-output channels, particularly such loads as may require substantially balanced current.

The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A multi-output current-balancing circuit, comprising: a) a transformer having a primary winding and a plurality of secondary windings; b) a plurality of first rectifier circuits, a plurality of second rectifier circuits, and a plurality of first current balancing components, wherein each of said first and second rectifier circuits and each of said first current balancing components is coupled in series between two terminals of a corresponding one of said plurality of secondary windings, wherein each said first current balancing component is configured for current balancing between each of said first and second rectifier circuits of said corresponding secondary winding; and c) a plurality of second current balancing components, wherein each second current balancing component is coupled to two different secondary windings for current balancing between said different secondary windings.
 2. The current-balancing circuit of claim 1, wherein each of said secondary windings is configured to supply power to said corresponding first and second rectifier circuits.
 3. The current-balancing circuit of claim 1, wherein output terminals of said first and second rectifier circuits are configured to be output terminals of said current-balancing circuit.
 4. The current-balancing circuit of claim 1, wherein each of said first current balancing components comprises a first current balancing capacitor.
 5. The current-balancing circuit of claim 1, further comprising a load coupled to each multi-output channel of said current-balancing circuit, wherein each load comprises one or more series coupled light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
 6. The current-balancing circuit of claim 1, wherein an average current of each of said plurality of first current balancing components is substantially zero.
 7. The current-balancing circuit of claim 1, wherein a forward current flowing through each of said plurality of first current balancing components is substantially equal to a reverse current thereof.
 8. The current-balancing circuit of claim 1, wherein an average current of each of said plurality of second current balancing components is substantially zero.
 9. The current-balancing circuit of claim 1, wherein a forward current flowing through each of said second current balancing components is substantially equal to a reverse current thereof.
 10. The current-balancing circuit of claim 1, wherein a number of said second current balancing components is less than a number of said secondary windings by one.
 11. The current-balancing circuit of claim 1, wherein a number of said first rectifier circuits, said second rectifier circuits, and said first current balancing components equals a number of said secondary windings.
 12. The current-balancing circuit of claim 1, wherein each of said first rectifier circuits comprises a first diode, a second diode, and a first filter capacitor, wherein said first diode is coupled in series to said second diode, and said first filter capacitor is coupled in parallel to terminals of said first diode and said second diode, wherein an anode of said second diode is coupled to ground, wherein a common node of said first and second diodes is configured as an input terminal of said first rectifier circuit, and terminals of said first filter capacitor are configured as output terminals of said first rectifier circuit.
 13. The current-balancing circuit of claim 12, further comprising an LED load coupled to said output terminals of each said first rectifier circuit.
 14. The current-balancing circuit of claim 1, wherein each of said second rectifier circuits comprises a third diode, a fourth diode, and a second filter capacitor, wherein said third diode is coupled in series to said fourth diode, wherein a cathode of said third diode is coupled to a first terminal of said second filter capacitor, wherein a second terminal of said second filter capacitor is configured as a first connection terminal of said second rectifier circuit, and an anode of said fourth diode is configured as a second connection terminal of said second rectifier circuit, wherein a common node of said third and fourth diodes is configured as an input terminal of said second rectifier circuit, and two terminals of said second filter capacitor are configured as output terminals of said second rectifier circuit, wherein said second rectifier circuits corresponding to different secondary windings are coupled through said first and second connection terminals, and common nodes of said second rectifier circuits are coupled to said second current balancing components.
 15. The current-balancing circuit of claim 14, further comprising an LED load coupled to said output terminals of each said second rectifier circuit.
 16. The current-balancing circuit of claim 1, further comprising a load coupled to each of said first and second rectifier circuits.
 17. The current-balancing circuit of claim 16, wherein each load comprises one or more series coupled LEDs.
 18. The current-balancing circuit of claim 1, wherein said second current balancing component comprises a second current balancing capacitor.
 19. The current-balancing circuit of claim 18, wherein said first terminal of said second current balancing capacitor is coupled to an anode of a second diode in one of said second rectifier circuits, and to a negative output terminal of one of said first rectifier circuits of said different secondary windings.
 20. The current-balancing circuit of claim 18, wherein said first terminal of said second current balancing capacitor is coupled to an anode of a second diode in one of said first rectifier circuits, and to a negative output terminal of one of said second rectifier circuits of said different secondary windings. 